The Women, Media and Change (WOMEC) on Thursday launched a campaign to advocate good nutrition in the country.
The 18-month “The Nourish Ghana: Advocating for increased leadership to combat malnutrition” project seeks to create a platform for dialogue to strengthen national policy action on nutrition by advocating increase in leadership, funding and accountability.
It also seeks to use the media to disseminate information on issues across all sectors.
Speaking at a stakeholder engagement in Accra, the Executive Director of WOMEC, Dr Charity Binka, said malnutrition was still a major problem for both public health and development crises in the country.
She noted that a recent data from Ghana Demographic health survey 2022 indicated that 18 per cent of children under five years were stunted, six per cent were wasted while 12 per cent were underweight.
Also, she stated malnutrition cost the country approximately 6.4 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually.
These figures, Dr Binka said demanded urgent action to address the situation, adding that, “if we do not act decisively, we risk compromising the health and productivity of future generations.”
“Through collaborative engagement with parliamentarians, policymakers, civil society, the media, and community stakeholders, we hope to raise awareness, drive policy change, and increase investments in high-impact nutrition interventions,” she underscored.
Dr Binka highlighted that the stakeholder engagement was a call to action to discuss strategies, share ideas, and build partnerships that will improve nutrition outcomes for all.
“We will also reflect on the outcomes of the 2025 Nutrition for Growth (NG) Summit and explore how Ghana can leverage these to accelerate progress,” the Executive Director said.
She urged the government to allocate funding for nutrition specifically in its budget to improve nutrition in the country.
“However, government has committed $6 million in its budget 2026 for nutrition at the Nutrition For Growth Summit (N4G) which is not bad but we can do better, Madagascar which is a smaller country has committed five per cent of it national budget which is great,” she disclosed.
The Principal Planning Analyst of National Development Planning Commission, Nii-Odoi Odotei, said the joint commitment to addressing malnutrition speaks not only to improving public health but also to reinforcing the national development agenda.
He said malnutrition undermined the future, contributing to significant economic losses and hindering sustainable growth of the country.
He noted that the country was faced with a complex nutrition landscape, marked by the coexistence of undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and obesity within the same populations, households, and individuals despite its significant strides in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition.
These challenges, he said demanded urgent action, particularly as economic vulnerability, shifting food environments, and climate-related threats further limit access to nutritious foods for vulnerable populations.
“The Nourish Ghana initiative is a timely and strategic response to our nation’s pressing nutrition challenges. With evidence showing its profound impact on child health and economic productivity, malnutrition poses an obstacle to achieving a resilient and prosperous Ghana,” he added
BY CECILIA YADA LAGBA
